In October we started a long form series for women who want to take strategic action around being visible in the world. We looked specifically at the first two stages of building a visibility strategy; your intention and commitment. We also read and listened to some fantastic work on women, men, work and parenting; the notion of hysteria; and speaking up about sexual assault. Oh, and there’s a mind boggling example of mansplaining we saw on IG that you won’t want to miss. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea, and check it out all below!
FROM THE BLOG
Establishing Your Visibility Intention
[Topics: visibility | business | strategy and planning]
‘…in order to get clear on your intention, it’s essential you can answer these two questions;
Why do you want to be visible? What do you want to achieve by being visible?
To answer these questions, you need to know the overall vision of the business. This will stop you from being visible about things that are tangential to your business or distracting or confusing for the people you’re trying to reach.’
Your Visibility Commitment and Your Core Desired Feelings
[Topics: visibility | business | strategy and planning]
‘The specific question to ask yourself is;
What resources will I commit to ensure I realise my visibility intention?
Here are some examples of how you might quantify your resource commitment:
- I’ll commit 5 hours per week to outreach and in that time I’ll connect with my community on socials 5 times a week, be a positive daily contributor in another community where my ideal customers hang out, and pitch myself to 3 bloggers, vloggers, podcasters, or You Tubers (this will depend on who you’re trying to reach as well as the platform you’re building – something we’ll address later in this series)
- I’ll spend $500 a month on advertising to attract my ideal customers to my opt in
- I’ll attend 3 local meet ups each quarter and aim to create 2 genuine relationships that I can grow over the long term.’
WHAT WE SAW
Annabel Crabb’s ‘Men at Work’
Annabel Crabb’s quarterly essay, ‘Men at Work’ is a fantastic investigation into what’s stopping men from ‘leaning in’ at home. It’s an exploration of the difference between the way men and women are treated as parents of young children, and it’s a call for a more equitable approach by society when responding to the needs of families.
This one is focused specifically on Australia, although draws on data and examples from around the world.
Hysteria
If you have an audible account Hysteria is a podcast you’ll be able to access for free as part of your membership. I loved everything about this series. It investigates the phenomenon of Hysteria across time with a particular focus on examples from the UK and the US. I was initially drawn to it because hysteria has been the accusation lodged at women across time as a silencing mechanism. It was also the catalyst for the witch hunts in the US.
If these topics interest you, you might want to check out Hysteria. It’s cleverly written, beautifully produced, and traverses the spectrum of ways in which hysteria has come to manifest itself. The final two episodes on corporate hysteria and viral panic are particularly fascinating and you might find, like me, that given the accusation of hysteria is a favourite of the weapon of the patriarchy, it’s worthwhile taking some time to develop a more nuanced understanding of what it actually is.
Chanel Miller, ‘Know my Name’
Chanel Miller is the woman who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University in January 2015. You may remember her victim impact statement at that time. It was articulate, emotionally raw, and completely turned on its head a lot of presumptions people had been carrying around about sexual assault and alcohol up until that time.
Chanel’s identity was protected during the trial but now she has released a book about her experience, reclaiming her story and her voice. I experience Chanel as a remarkable truth teller in a world that doesn’t always want to hear the truth. Her writing is clear and beautiful. Her way of being in the world, graceful. You can check out her book here and Oprah also interviewed her on her Super Soul conversations which you can check out here.
No matter your blood alcohol level, there is no point at which you forfeit bodily autonomy. Now you’ve had this much to drink, anyone gets to do whatever they want to you. That limit does not exist.’
Mansplaining at its finest
What, really, is there to say?
